Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.
Research Guides
Multiple Case Studies
Nadia Alqahtani and Pengtong Qu
Description
The case study approach is popular across disciplines in education, anthropology, sociology, psychology, medicine, law, and political science (Creswell, 2013). It is both a research method and a strategy (Creswell, 2013; Yin, 2017). In this type of research design, a case can be an individual, an event, or an entity, as determined by the research questions. There are two variants of the case study: the single-case study and the multiple-case study. The former design can be used to study and understand an unusual case, a critical case, a longitudinal case, or a revelatory case. On the other hand, a multiple-case study includes two or more cases or replications across the cases to investigate the same phenomena (Lewis-Beck, Bryman & Liao, 2003; Yin, 2017). …a multiple-case study includes two or more cases or replications across the cases to investigate the same phenomena
The difference between the single- and multiple-case study is the research design; however, they are within the same methodological framework (Yin, 2017). Multiple cases are selected so that “individual case studies either (a) predict similar results (a literal replication) or (b) predict contrasting results but for anticipatable reasons (a theoretical replication)” (p. 55). When the purpose of the study is to compare and replicate the findings, the multiple-case study produces more compelling evidence so that the study is considered more robust than the single-case study (Yin, 2017).
To write a multiple-case study, a summary of individual cases should be reported, and researchers need to draw cross-case conclusions and form a cross-case report (Yin, 2017). With evidence from multiple cases, researchers may have generalizable findings and develop theories (Lewis-Beck, Bryman & Liao, 2003).
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Lewis-Beck, M., Bryman, A. E., & Liao, T. F. (2003). The Sage encyclopedia of social science research methods . Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Yin, R. K. (2017). Case study research and applications: Design and methods . Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Key Research Books and Articles on Multiple Case Study Methodology
Yin discusses how to decide if a case study should be used in research. Novice researchers can learn about research design, data collection, and data analysis of different types of case studies, as well as writing a case study report.
Chapter 2 introduces four major types of research design in case studies: holistic single-case design, embedded single-case design, holistic multiple-case design, and embedded multiple-case design. Novice researchers will learn about the definitions and characteristics of different designs. This chapter also teaches researchers how to examine and discuss the reliability and validity of the designs.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches . Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
This book compares five different qualitative research designs: narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. It compares the characteristics, data collection, data analysis and representation, validity, and writing-up procedures among five inquiry approaches using texts with tables. For each approach, the author introduced the definition, features, types, and procedures and contextualized these components in a study, which was conducted through the same method. Each chapter ends with a list of relevant readings of each inquiry approach.
This book invites readers to compare these five qualitative methods and see the value of each approach. Readers can consider which approach would serve for their research contexts and questions, as well as how to design their research and conduct the data analysis based on their choice of research method.
Günes, E., & Bahçivan, E. (2016). A multiple case study of preservice science teachers’ TPACK: Embedded in a comprehensive belief system. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11 (15), 8040-8054.
In this article, the researchers showed the importance of using technological opportunities in improving the education process and how they enhanced the students’ learning in science education. The study examined the connection between “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (TPACK) and belief system in a science teaching context. The researchers used the multiple-case study to explore the effect of TPACK on the preservice science teachers’ (PST) beliefs on their TPACK level. The participants were three teachers with the low, medium, and high level of TPACK confidence. Content analysis was utilized to analyze the data, which were collected by individual semi-structured interviews with the participants about their lesson plans. The study first discussed each case, then compared features and relations across cases. The researchers found that there was a positive relationship between PST’s TPACK confidence and TPACK level; when PST had higher TPACK confidence, the participant had a higher competent TPACK level and vice versa.
Recent Dissertations Using Multiple Case Study Methodology
Milholland, E. S. (2015). A multiple case study of instructors utilizing Classroom Response Systems (CRS) to achieve pedagogical goals . Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 3706380)
The researcher of this study critiques the use of Classroom Responses Systems by five instructors who employed this program five years ago in their classrooms. The researcher conducted the multiple-case study methodology and categorized themes. He interviewed each instructor with questions about their initial pedagogical goals, the changes in pedagogy during teaching, and the teaching techniques individuals used while practicing the CRS. The researcher used the multiple-case study with five instructors. He found that all instructors changed their goals during employing CRS; they decided to reduce the time of lecturing and to spend more time engaging students in interactive activities. This study also demonstrated that CRS was useful for the instructors to achieve multiple learning goals; all the instructors provided examples of the positive aspect of implementing CRS in their classrooms.
Li, C. L. (2010). The emergence of fairy tale literacy: A multiple case study on promoting critical literacy of children through a juxtaposed reading of classic fairy tales and their contemporary disruptive variants . Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 3572104)
To explore how children’s development of critical literacy can be impacted by their reactions to fairy tales, the author conducted a multiple-case study with 4 cases, in which each child was a unit of analysis. Two Chinese immigrant children (a boy and a girl) and two American children (a boy and a girl) at the second or third grade were recruited in the study. The data were collected through interviews, discussions on fairy tales, and drawing pictures. The analysis was conducted within both individual cases and cross cases. Across four cases, the researcher found that the young children’s’ knowledge of traditional fairy tales was built upon mass-media based adaptations. The children believed that the representations on mass-media were the original stories, even though fairy tales are included in the elementary school curriculum. The author also found that introducing classic versions of fairy tales increased children’s knowledge in the genre’s origin, which would benefit their understanding of the genre. She argued that introducing fairy tales can be the first step to promote children’s development of critical literacy.
Asher, K. C. (2014). Mediating occupational socialization and occupational individuation in teacher education: A multiple case study of five elementary pre-service student teachers . Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order Number 3671989)
This study portrayed five pre-service teachers’ teaching experience in their student teaching phase and explored how pre-service teachers mediate their occupational socialization with occupational individuation. The study used the multiple-case study design and recruited five pre-service teachers from a Midwestern university as five cases. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and field notes. The author implemented the case study analysis and found five strategies that the participants used to mediate occupational socialization with occupational individuation. These strategies were: 1) hindering from practicing their beliefs, 2) mimicking the styles of supervising teachers, 3) teaching in the ways in alignment with school’s existing practice, 4) enacting their own ideas, and 5) integrating and balancing occupational socialization and occupational individuation. The study also provided recommendations and implications to policymakers and educators in teacher education so that pre-service teachers can be better supported.
Multiple Case Studies by Nadia Alqahtani and Pengtong Qu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Share This Book
Research Design in Business and Management pp 171–186 Cite as
Multiple Case Research Design
- Stefan Hunziker 3 &
- Michael Blankenagel 3
- First Online: 10 November 2021
2003 Accesses
This chapter addresses the peculiarities, characteristics, and major fallacies of multiple case research designs. The major advantage of multiple case research lies in cross-case analysis. A multiple case research design shifts the focus from understanding a single case to the differences and similarities between cases. Thus, it is not just conducting more (second, third, etc.) case studies. Rather, it is the next step in developing a theory about factors driving differences and similarities. Also, researchers find relevant information on how to write a multiple case research design paper and learn about typical methodologies used for this research design. The chapter closes with referring to overlapping and adjacent research designs.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution .
Buying options
- DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-34357-6_9
- Chapter length: 16 pages
- Instant PDF download
- Readable on all devices
- Own it forever
- Exclusive offer for individuals only
- Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
- ISBN: 978-3-658-34357-6
- ISBN: 978-3-658-34356-9
- Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
- Free shipping worldwide Shipping restrictions may apply, check to see if you are impacted .
Bruns, W. J., & McKinnon, S. M. (1993). Information and managers: A field study. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 5 , 84–108.
Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, K. M., & Graebner, M. E. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50 (1), 25–32.
CrossRef Google Scholar
Ferreira, L. D. & Merchant, K. A. (1992). Field research in management accounting and control: A review and evaluation . Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Keating, P. J. (1995). A framework for classifying and evaluating the theoretical contributions of case research in management accounting. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 7 , 66–86.
Lillis, A. M., & Mundy, J. (2005). Cross-sectional field studies in management accounting research—closing the gaps between surveys and case studies. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 17 (1), 119–141.
Ragin, C. C. (2009). Reflections on casing and case-oriented research (pp. 522–534). The Sage handbook of case-based method.
Ridder, H.-G. (2017). The theory contribution of case study research designs. Business Research, 10 (2), 281–305.
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443–466).
Vaughan, D. (1992). Theory elaboration: The heuristics of case analysis. What is a case?. In C.C. Ragin & H.S. Becker (Eds.), Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 173–202). Cambridge University Press.
Walsham, G. (2006). Doing interpretive research. European Journal of Information Systems, 15 (3), 320–330.
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research. Design and methods (5th ed.). SAGE.
Download references
Author information
Authors and affiliations.
Wirtschaft/IFZ – Campus Zug-Rotkreuz, Hochschule Luzern, Zug-Rotkreuz, Zug , Switzerland
Stefan Hunziker & Michael Blankenagel
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Stefan Hunziker .
Rights and permissions
Reprints and Permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter.
Hunziker, S., Blankenagel, M. (2021). Multiple Case Research Design. In: Research Design in Business and Management. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-34357-6_9
Download citation
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-34357-6_9
Published : 10 November 2021
Publisher Name : Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN : 978-3-658-34356-9
Online ISBN : 978-3-658-34357-6
eBook Packages : Business and Economics (German Language)
Share this chapter
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
- Language: English
- All Products
- Book Chapters
- Journal Articles
- Video Lessons
- Teaching Cases
What is Multi-Case Study
Learn More About Multi-Case Study in These Related Titles
The Multiple Case Study Design Methodology and Application for Management Education
Daphne halkias, michael neubert, paul w. thurman, nicholas harkiolakis.
- Available on Taylor & Francis eBooks
- Preview this title
What are VitalSource eBooks?
Prices & shipping based on shipping country
Multiple eBook Formats
The multiple case study design: methodology and application for management education.
ISBN | Quantity:
Shopping Cart Summary
VitalSource is an academic technology provider that offers Routledge.com customers access to its free eBook reader, Bookshelf. Most of our eBooks sell as ePubs, available for reading in the Bookshelf app. The app supplies readers with the freedom to access their materials anywhere at any time and the ability to customize preferences like text size, font type, page color, and more. To learn more about our eBooks, visit the links below:
- About eBooks »
- eBooks FAQ »
- Get the Bookshelf App »
Book Description
Most organizations today operate in volatile economic and social environments and qualitative research plays an essential role in investigating leadership and management problems. This unique volume offers novice and experienced researchers a brief, student-centric research methods text specifically devoted to the multiple case study design. The multiple case study design is a valuable qualitative research tool in studying the links between the personal, social, behavioral, psychological, organizational, cultural, and environmental factors that guide organizational and leadership development. Case study research is essential for the in-depth study of participants' perspectives on the phenomenon within its natural context. Rigorously designed management and leadership case studies in the extant literature have a central focus on individual managers' and leaders' stories and their perceptions of the broader forces operating within and outside their organizations. This is a comprehensive methodology book exploring the multiple case study design with step-by-step and easily accessible guidelines on the topic, making it especially valuable to researchers, academics, and students in the areas of business, management, and leadership.
Table of Contents
1. A Refresher on the Philosophical Foundations of Academic Research 2. Research Methodologies: The Basics 3. The Role of Theory in Qualitative Research 4. How does the Novice Researcher Design a Multiple Case Study? 5. The Advantage of the Multiple Case Study Design for Management Researchers 6. Applying Data Collection Methods in Multiple Case Study Research 7. The Data Analysis Process for Multiple Case Study Research 8. Extending Theory with Multiple Case Study Design 9. Incorporating Multiple Case Design and Methodologies into Teaching and Professional Practice 10. Writing and Publishing Multiple Case Study Research 11. Concluding Thoughts
Daphne Halkias is Professor and Distinguished Research Fellow at École des Ponts Business School in Paris, France. Michael Neubert is Associate Professor in Business and Management Studies and a Member of the Academic Council at UIBS in Zurich, Switzerland. Paul W. Thurman is Professor of Management and Analytics at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA. Nicholas Harkiolakis is on the Faculty of the School of Technology at Northcentral University, San Diego, California, USA.
We use cookies to improve your website experience. To learn how to manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy . By continuing to use the website, you consent to our use of cookies.
The country you have selected will result in the following:
- Product pricing will be adjusted to match the corresponding currency.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Multiple Case Studies by Nadia Alqahtani and Pengtong Qu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
A difference between a single case study and a multiple case study is that in the last mentioned, the researcher are studying multiple cases to
The research approach and design of the study is discussed in terms of the methodological contribution. Keywords: Work-integrated learning, information
A multiple case research design shifts the focus from understanding a single case to the differences and similarities between cases. Thus, it is
What is Multiple Case Study? Definition of Multiple Case Study: Explores a multiple bounded system involving multiple sources of information or relies on
What is Multi-Case Study? Definition of Multi-Case Study: A research study on multiple cases to understand the similarities and differences between the
In this book, I call this tension the “case–quintain dilemma.” For multicase research, the cases need to be similar in some ways— perhaps a set of teachers
Eisenhardt's approach to multiple case study. 9.7K views 2 years ago. Mikko Rönkkö. Mikko Rönkkö. 5.37K subscribers. Subscribe.
The multiple case study design is a valuable qualitative research tool in studying the links between the personal, social, behavioral, psychological
In multiple-case study, replication occurs in two stages: a literal replication stage where cases are selected to obtain similar results, and a theoretical